Jamaica recovery, relief efforts continue after Hurricane Melissa as death toll climbs from historic disaster
A U.S. task force is helping with search and rescue missions that are still ongoing, John Morrison, the Public Information Officer for the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team and a part of the joint force, told FOX Weather Monday.
Recovery efforts underway in Jamaica
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray shares the latest updates for the early stages of recovery in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa destroyed much of the country in its path. Locals plead for help in some of the hardest hit areas from the storm.
ST. ELIZABETH PARISH, Jamaica – The Jamaican government has begun to reach the communities most devastated by Hurricane Melissa nearly a week after the historic storm made landfall and carved a path of immense destruction across the western part of the island nation.
Jamaican officials said the first wave of immediate aid supplies and fuel made it to Westmoreland Parish with the help of a U.S. State Department Disaster Relief Task Force on Sunday.
Many buildings and key infrastructure in Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth and St. James Parishes were leveled by the eyewall and the strongest winds from Melissa, which were as strong as 185 mph at landfall.
A U.S. task force is helping with search and rescue missions which are still ongoing, John Morrison, the Public Information Officer for the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team and a part of the joint force, told FOX Weather Monday.
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray, who rode out the monstrous Category 5 hurricane just east of Montego Bay, documented the difficult and slow journey of one of the first government relief convoys to the historic town of Black River Friday, one of the municipalities closest to landfall.
Ray showed main roadways lined with downed powerlines. Survivors said their homes were destroyed and were without food and water.
"My five kids are homeless," a Black River mother told Ray.
"The mountains are bald, there is no vegetation in these mountains," said Ray. The removal of leaves and tree bark is a hallmark of incredibly strong wind speeds, often associated with the strongest tornadoes.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Saturday that the current death toll currently stands at 28.
Floods from the storm have left at least 28 people dead in nearby Haiti.
Elderly woman rescued by helicopter during Hurricane Melissa relief operations
The Jamaican Defence Force said an elderly woman was evacuated during a food drop mission to areas devastated by Hurricane Melissa on Sunday.
Much of the hardest hit areas in Jamaica remain without power as aid trickles in from the government, charities and NGOs, as well as foreign governments.
The Jamaican Defence Force posted social media videos of helicopter teams conducting food drops and medical airlifts in some of the hardest-hit communities over the weekend.
Prime Minister Holness said he met with The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency over the weekend to further coordinate relief from regional neighbors.
BEFORE AND AFTER SATELLITE IMAGERY REVEALS EXTEND OF DAMAGE IN JAMAICA
"The scale of destruction is unlike anything we have seen in decades," Holness wrote in a social media post Monday after touring devastated areas over the weekend.
Watch: Drone video shows hurricane damage in Jamaica
JAMAICA DEVASTATION: Drone video reveals the extent of damage left behind in Middle Quarters, Jamaica from Hurricane Melissa. Thousands of people were displaced as the storm destroyed homes and businesses, leaving rubble behind.
One aid group told FOX Weather that storm surge flooding remained in communities around Montego Bay, the country's third-most populous city in the northwestern part of the island.
"At least four hospitals have reported infrastructure damage and many health clinics remain closed, which is a serious concern, as thousands of people are unable to access essential medical services," Ivonne Rodríguez-Wiewall, Executive Advisor for the Caribbean at Direct Relief told FOX Weather on Monday.
RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS LAND IN JAMAICA IN WAKE OF HURRICANE MELISSA
Direct Relief delivering life-saving medical supplies to Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa
Recovery operations are continuing across Jamaica in the wake of deadly Hurricane Melissa, and Direct Relief is on the ground delivering emergency medical aid and critical, life-saving supplies to the region. Executive Advisor for the Caribbean Ivonne Rodriguez-Wiewall joined FOX Weather on Monday with more about the mission.
Scott Renner, the U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Jamaica, said the U.S. has provided an initial $11 million in immediate assistance. In a social media post, Renner said the money covered food supplies for 40,000 victims, the installation of six water treatment systems and emergency shelter materials.
Three CH-47 Chinooks from the 1st Battalion, 228 Aviation Regiment, carried 40 service members and supplies arrive in Jamaica part of US disaster relief response. (USEmbassyJA/X / FOX Weather)
A U.S. Department of State-led Task Force arrived in Kingston Saturday which included three CH-47 Chinook helicopters as well as first responders from Virginia and California.
"The destruction that it's caused is really inconceivable, and it's gone over such a wide area," Morrison told FOX Weather, describing the damage left behind by Melissa.
Morrison said Monday that U.S. forces were hoping to establish a forward operating base of operations in the heavily damaged western part of the island.
SEE SOME OF THE WILDEST MISSIONS FROM NOAA'S HURRICANE HUNTERS FLYING INTO THE EYE OF THE STORM
U.S. Disaster Relief Task Force helps Jamaican Emergency Management in aftermath of Hurricane Melissa
John Morrison, Public Information Officer for the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team is part of a U.S. State Department-led joint task force that's working with Jamaican Emergency Management perform search and rescue operations in the aftermath of historic Hurricane Melissa. He joined for FOX Weather to describe the devastation caused by the storm and the current situation on the ground.
With max winds of 185 mph, Hurricane Melissa is tied with Dorian, Wilma, Gilbert and the Labor Day storm for the second-highest recorded wind speeds of any hurricane in the Atlantic basin.
HURRICANE MELISSA MAKES HISTORY FOR INTENSITY
"Melissa was as strong and perfectly formed as any hurricane you're likely to ever see. And in a horrible bit of timing, it peaked just before landfall," said FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross.
This animated satellite image provides a look at catastrophic Category 5 Hurricane Melissa as it approached Jamaica. (FOX Weather)
Ray said the damage he saw was perhaps only comparable to the massive Asian tsunami of 2004 which was caused by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake.
"So many people right now are suffering. There is a desperate need for water and food and supplies," said Ray as he signed off.
Gut-wrenching damage in Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray takes a journey through some of the worst damage in Black River, Jamaica, near where Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 storm. Ray found people are desperate for food, water and resources to begin recovery.